5.1 earthquake rocks L.A. region; minor injuries, homes damaged

A map showing the location of the epicenter of Friday evening's quake near La Habra, California.

A map showing the location of the epicenter of Friday evening's quake near La Habra, California. (Bing Maps)

Ken Schwencke and Rong-Gong Lin II

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake was reported Friday evening one mile from La Habra, California, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The temblor occurred at 9:09 p.m. Pacific time at a depth of 0.6 miles.

11:50 p.m.

USGS scientist Lucy Jones' advice for Friday night: “Don’t put your child to bed under a tall bookcase that could fall over him tonight."

Updated at 11:30 p.m.

Fullerton police say the corner of Rosecrans and Gilbert avenues is closed because of a water main break.

Friday night’s 5.1 earthquake hit only about 2 to 3 miles underneath the surface, which means the shaking is very concentrated in a small area, officials said.

Updated at 9:48 p.m.

So far, there have been reports of only moderate damage from the quake. Residents in La Habra, near the epicenter, have sent out pictures on social media showing broken vases, toppled furniture and items scattered around their homes. No structural damage has been reported so far. Disneyland has closed some rides, according to guests. Some said they were stuck on rides. The Los Angeles Fire Department said there have been no reports of significant damage in Los Angeles. Power was out in some neighborhoods near the epicenter. There are no reported injures.

Updated at 9:44 p.m.

The magnitude 5.1 earthquake that rattled Southern California Friday night raises the possibility that a larger quake is on the way, seismologists said. (It was originally listed as magnitude 5.3).

The swarm of earthquakes began at 8:03 p.m., when a 3.6 quake hit. That ended up being a foreshock of the largest earthquake to hit, a magnitude 5.1 at 9:09 p.m. At least two more aftershocks hit in the 3 range, a 3.4 at 9:11 p.m. and a 3.6 at 9:30 p.m.

U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones said the 5.1 quake has a 5% chance of being a foreshock of an even larger quake.

“There could be even a larger earthquake in the next few hours or the next few days,” Jones said at Caltech.

Updated at 9:33 p.m.

A 3.6 aftershock was just reported in La Habra, according to the USGS.

Updated at 9:32 p.m.

Many Disneyland guests have said on social media that rides have been stopped as a precaution. The park is south of the epicenter.

Updated at 9:29 p.m.

In Hacienda Heights, a few miles west of the epicenter, some items fell off the walls at one home. But there were no reports of more serious damage.

Updated at 9:26 p.m.

In Orange, a few miles to the east of the epicenter, patrons at BJs Brewery went from boisterous conversation to tense silence. The suspended LED lights swayed. The vodka behind the bar stayed where it was. When it was over, the room erupted in applause.

Updated at 9:23 p.m.

The 5.3 magitude quake occurred a few minutes after two smaller quakes, which appear to have been foreshocks.

Updated at 9:22 p.m.

Residents in Orange County reported the quake lasted about 10 seconds. They said they felt gradual shaking.

Updated at 9:16 p.m.

The quake was felt across a large swath of Southern California. There were no immediate reports of damage. The Los Angeles Fire Department said it is going into emergency mode and looking for signs of damage or injuries.

According to the USGS, the epicenter was one mile from Brea, three miles from Rowland Heights, three miles from Fullerton and 337 miles from Phoenix.

In the past ten days, there has been one earthquake magnitude 3.0 and greater centered nearby.

This information comes from the USGS Earthquake Notification Service and this post was created by an algorithm written by the author.